JetBlue Responds to Incident with "Erratic" Captain

Just three weeks after an American Airlines flight attendant displayed irrational behavior before take-off, a JetBlue captain displayed what some called "erratic" behavior during a flight from New York to Las Vegas.

One passenger heard the captain yell, "They're going to take us down. They're taking us down. They're going to take us down. Say the Lord's prayer. Say the Lord's prayer." Others said he was yelling about Al Qaeda and a bomb on the plane.

JetBlue responded with a statement and updates on its blog:

"Flight 191 departed New York's JFK airport at 7:28 am ET (was scheduled to depart 6:55 am ET).  At roughly 10 am CT/11 am ET, the pilot in command elected to divert to Amarillo, TX for a medical situation involving the Captain.  Another Captain, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck prior to landing at Amarillo, and took over the duties of the ill crewmember.  The aircraft arrived Amarillo at 10:11 am CT, and the crewmember was removed from the aircraft and taken to a local medical facility.

"Customers have safely deplaned and we're sending a new aircraft and crew to Amarillo to continue the flight to Las Vegas."

Read a more detailed timeline of events.

JetBlue faced another embarrassing incident recently, when one of its flight attendants exited the plane via the emergency chute. Maybe these airline jobs really are stressful!  

Discussion Starters:

• Read American Airlines' statement and updates. How well do you think the company is responding to the situation? 
• Imagine that you're head of HR for American Airlines. What, if any, communication would you initiate for employees? What medium would you use, and what would you say?